Friday, December 23, 2011

India's Worst TV Panellists

If you haven’t watched this particular episode of the CNN
show ‘Crossfire’ I recommend that you do. It was the American version of Left
and Right which made the unfortunate mistake of inviting film actor and
satirist Jon Stewart as guest. Stewart not only exposed the hacks but accused
the hosts of dividing the country with their mindless ‘theatre’ and ridiculed
them so badly that the show had to be pulled off the air. That is the
unfortunate truth. There is a great difference between good debates and ‘theatre’.
And it is always easier to imitate evil than it is to replicate the good. The
Indian TV channels and their daily debates are mostly nothing more than absurd
theatre. Usually, the panellists on the show are picked not for their
independence but for their political persuasions. Kicking and screaming,
talking over each other, hurling insults is the kind of theatre that our media
dishes out as ‘shows’ rather than sensible debates that can unravel facts. There
are panellists like Soli Sorabjee or Harish Salve who hold strong views but
express these with decency and respect for others. Not so the usual suspects
who are handpicked for the divisive agenda of the media.

The Lokpal bill is obviously the flavour of the week. Far
from discussing the contents of the draft bill or its clauses our media crooks
were busy helping the govt divert attention by focussing excessively on the
quotas and the comedy of Laloo Yadav. It is only Arvind Kejriwal from TeamAnna
who talked about specific clauses in a presser. So, on December 22 I asked
fellow tweeple who they thought were the worst TV panellists and the response
was near unanimous when it came to naming those.

Mark Tully, the renowned British journalist, who is as
Indian as you can get stated it best: Primetime debates an excuse for doing cheap TV: “Well, as someone who is sometimes on these
panels, frankly I am amazed that there are so many of them. There is a stage
army of people really who come on to these panels….And I think this is largely
an excuse for doing television on the cheap. I personally believe that we
should have other ways of presenting the news, discussing the news than endless
panel discussions…”. So here are India’s worst panellists. (They are listed
randomly and not in any ranking)

Vinod Sharma –
He’s the political editor of Hindustan Times. Yes, the one with that permanent
smirk on his face which is eerily similar to the smirk that child molester
S.P.Rathore sports. His boss is a Congress MP in Rajya Sabha and his newspaper
itself is seen as a Congress mouthpiece. If he is on a panel you need not have
a spokesperson from the Congress at all. At best, he will grudgingly concede
the gaffes of the govt but will quickly come around to defend them by any and
all spurious arguments.

Mani Shankar Aiyar
- Foul-mouthed, intemperate and vicious
he probably considers it a goal scored if he manages to infuriate viewers. From
his comment about Ajay Maken’s command of the English language to the most
recent diatribe against Anna Hazare he is the best example of ‘theatre of the
absurd’. As substitute for genuine argument he lately asks Anna to go back to
Ralegan Siddhi and flog drunkards. And in intended pun he thought it was funny
to state that we have heard the “Annas and paises” enough. Personal attacks and
insults are his favourite form of healthy debate.

Teesta Setalvad –
Think Gujarat and she will crawl out from anywhere and on every channel you can
think of with that permanent scowl of hers. She is the favourite of our TV
channels when it comes to bashing Narendra Modi and when required also trash
the BJP. Not surprising, considering that she was funded by the likes of the
Congress and CPM to campaign against them. The SIT that investigated Gujarat
riots is on record stating the affidavits she engineered were mostly fake and
her own associates have now turned against her. And because she is so tainted
it makes her all the more endearing for channels like NDTV and CNN-IBN. The
agendas match! Has sought anticipatory bail and none less than the Supreme
Court has rapped her on the knuckles for frivolously attempting to
internationalise what are matters for Indian courts. Of course, for all her
services the Congress govt honoured her with a Padma Shri award.

Renuka Chaudhury
– Whosoever coined the phrase “insult to intelligence” must have pictured and
heard this woman light years ago. If sheer cacophony were to win awards in a
debate she would have a roomful. And, of course, the nation owes it to her for
enlightening everyone that Rahul Gandhi isn’t a “parrot”! I still maintain that
if the Congress wants to lose a battle or a debate or cut a sorry comic figure
Renuka Chaudhury is any day a reliable bet. To her goes the credit of reducing
of any debate to bickering and throwing her ‘weight’ around. I doubt if you
would want her as a neighbour, one as shrill and senseless as her.

Shoma Choudhury –
She sure gets paid for ‘telling the truth’ as her rag called ‘Tehelka’ proudly
claims as their tagline. Mind you, she is not your kicking and screaming types
but an intelligent smooth-talker who will find great malleability with facts.
Recently crossed swords with Subramanian Swamy on a channel discussing his
controversial article in DNA for which his courses were cancelled at Harvard.
She suggested the article was hate-speech but did not directly confirm if she
had read it thoroughly when Swamy asked her. A rare one who can form opinions
on people without reading what they have written. Her magazine is another one
that resurrected itself after the UPA came to power in 2004. Her greatest
moment must have been ‘THINK’, but I wish she would do that before speaking.

Sanjay Nirupam –
Last heard he is STILL a member of the Congress. Imagine a thousand empty
vessels tumbling down a rocky mountain cliff and the sounds they would make.
There, you have Nirupam! Loud-mouth who considers TV debates as election
campaigns. What more can one say about him than cite Ashutosh of IBN7 who
recently asked him to leave a debate if he could not tolerate the views of others.
Maybe he should attend SriSri’s AOL courses or Dr.Phil’s art of being subtle.
But knowing Nirupam he is not likely to learn new tricks in a hurry.

Tushar Gandhi –
He is not a frequent traveller on TV debates but springs up every time there is
a discussion of Mahatma Gandhi. You would not be wrong in thinking he is Gandhi’s
gift to God. At other times, he is the sole authority on what is “Gandhian” and
what is not. Didn’t think too much when he considered selling out rare images
of Gandhi to a corporate entity for commercial campaigns. To his credit, he is
soft-spoken, mild mannered and not as belligerent as some of the other
panellists that are frequently on display. But the world would be better off if
he weren’t dishing out too many sermons in the name of Gandhi. Lately, this
nation is getting a bit tired and restless with all the other Gandhis.

Nandita Rao – It
is one thing to be kicking and screaming. But it gets worse when you have a bad
voice too. The shrill lawyer is a favourite of CNN-IBN when it comes to Anna
bashing. How she came to be a panellist on TV shows is a mystery that only
CNN-IBN can answer but I’m sure quite a few strings, nay ‘ropes’, must have been
pulled to get her there. Thankfully, her appearances have reduced and one hopes
it stays that way. It is fair to oppose Anna and team on issues but to take a
war-like, belligerent approach to debates is what makes up Nandita Rao. But she
provides the kind of theatre that our TV channels desperately seek. Logic or
sense be damned!

Manish Tiwari –
He is one of my all-time favourite panellists. If he is on a show he is bound
to leave you spell-bound with some quote or the other. And he’s a lawyer too. His
comment “Corrupt from head to toe” about Anna Hazare was made as a spokesman of
the Congress and not as a panellist. Irritating, belligerent he could easily be
the saint of lost causes. Since that comment on Anna he was gracious enough to
apologise only to goof up again in parliament. Sushma Swaraj, leader of
opposition, had to caution him with advice on being a first-time
parliamentarian and to learn decency. Will he learn? Time will tell!

There were other names suggested like Suhel Seth, Mahesh Bhatt,
Chandan Mitra and more and all of them deserve a place in this post but the
list could go on and on and on.

Here is something that is disturbing about these
panellists. Umesh Aggarwal, a documentary film maker, who has been exposing the
underbelly of the media had this to say: “Every aspect of news be it political,
business, sports or entertainment had a price tag. Even panel discussions on an
important national issue were ‘fixed”. Guests were invited to give the
discussion a particular slant. Selection of guests wasn’t dictated by the
editorial policy of the group but there were other considerations”. That says
everything about India’s worst panellists.

62 comments
:

Congress has fileded a strong TV paneslist for debates in Tv to brwobeat Oppn.It has also got some Editors in TV from national dailies to support their policies.But all oppn has failed to depute some of their strong spokesman as panelist in TV debates.Chandan Mitra from BJP is a total failure.Nirmala Seetharaman is quite good.RavishankR prasad is also good But fact is that the anchor in TV allows a lot of times to Congress but interrupts the debates by Oppn leaders and spokesman.It is a slave media which is doinga hit job on Oppn from Congress.Let People Judge them and take corrective measures

This Tushar Gandhi is the one who also sold the rights to MontBlanc for putting M.K.Gandhis face/signature on the pen with a price tag of 10+ Lakhs. Long back on the same subject, I read an article by M.J.Akbar on TOI "all that matters" section where Akbar seeemed to ask the question that, what would have Gandhi done, if he were to be gifted the same Lakhpati pen, and the answer would most probably be Gandhi would have smiled with his toothless abandon and lost that pen. [Sorry for being off the subject, but I could just not hold myself when I saw that Fat Overweight Tushar Gandhi's picture in here].

The worst spokesperson for Congress is Renuka Choudhary I have never heard her debate the specifics of the discussion. All she can do is scream in the loudest voice and make funny faces at the other panelists.

Why does Manoj Tiwari always has his mouth open like a cartoon character? Renuka looks like a ghosts with those screechy voice and bulged-out eyes. MS Iyer is an attention-seeker. They scare you to the core by their facial expressions if you are to watch news channels before sleep.

Can any one answer from penalist ,why congress party does not have party president of dalit,muslim or other people from even open category ? Does congress party president post reserve for "G" category only ??

Great list. Abhishek Manu Singhvi is another straight-faced liar who could be added to it. Spin includes choice of panellists, air time given to them by chor anchors, questions asked to pro-agenda and anti-agenda panellists and so much more. For example, a good anchor could call 1 of the panellists from the above list and yet manage to expose their lies and hypocrisy as well.

NINE DIAMONDS OF PSEUDO SECULARISM OF NATION AT THEIR BEST.. IRONICALLY THE MOST COMMON N LIVID THING AMONG THESE IS THAT NO ONE CAN BEAT THEM IN UNDER ANY KIND IF ARGUMENT UNLESS HE TOO IS A PSEUDI SECULAR..

You have done injustice to Vinod Mehta , by not including him here in the list!!! I think you have not seen the way ShakeelBHAI Ahmed out-shouts everyone on the panel... and yes How can you miss the uselessness of Someone like Sanjay Jha!!!

Two 'mani's are too annoying: Manish Tiwari & Manishankar Aiyar.Manishankar Aiyar is called in NDTV every now and then. The guy's indecency, disrespect for others are mistaken as boldness or straightforwardness. watching him speak is like watching someone masturbate in public. The doer enjoys, but viewers don't !!:) :)

What surprises me the most is the abusive & impolite mannerisms of all the above mentioned panelists against someone from BJP, Pro Hindu organization or even Anna's team. These Jokers keep on interrupting & throwing insults on anyone remotely anti-Congress. As empty vessels make the most sound, their frustration is understandable because that's what they are paid to do.

Mani Shankar Iyer is not just foul-mouthed and intemperate, you should also consider his immeasurable loyal contribution to post-independence Gandhi family by keeping the scams like CWG, 2G, Lokpal at a distance; he’s deputed at the media as an independent entity by Congress who can deliver pseudo-intellectual diatribes that would keep the level of the multi-billion dollar scams at the doorsteps of Kalmadis, Jaipal Reddys, Rajas and Dixits and not higher. There are people like Kalmadis who are ready work like this for a few penny and can be used as scapegoats whenever required.

Amazing Stuff Ravinar! Truly hats off for opening my eyes because I never thought of these panelists from this POV. I did a piece on corruption; would love your views on my blog www.thestandingcoin.blogspot.com

To Anonymous above. Didn't you READ the blog? TV anchors as part of the paid media are complicit in projecting BJP and Anti-Congress views in a bad and UNTRUTHFUL light. No wonder the obnoxious panellists belong to the category that sucks up to the corrupt Congress. One can tell where your sympathies lie. Either with Paid stooge anchors (are you one of them?) or with paid stooge panellists. It ain't easy to shamelessly promote untruths and lies and be likeable at the same time. So whoever you are--a 'paid news' anchor or a paid stooge panellist my sympathies lie with you, but please don't ask us to like all the creatures we pity.

WELL just to add to tushar Gandhi... who gave the authority to define Gandhi..just because he is the grand son of Gandhi he can express his views and we can not.If he ever followed Gandhiji he would join the movement.. and not say baseless things

Wow, the leading lights of the dark are already here. Only a few got away - Vinod Mehta is one that comes readily to mind, Luckily Diggy is not panelist but a darling of the media - knowing full well that both have equal credibility.

Alok Mehta from Nai Duniya is also a highly biased person. He frequently appears in various news channels trying to project congress as the saviour of the country and team Anna as threat to democracy. He is also ardent supporter that if anyone has any problem then he/she must contest election and that is the only legitimate way out.

"Anonymous" took exception to my remarks. I would like to tell him/her that I am not important enough to be invited by TV channels as a panelist. And I am no mediacrook either. There is pro-Congress media, just as there is pro-BJP media. For every Sagarika Ghose there is a Prabhu Chawla (how come he is not in the list!). For every Rajdeep Sardesai there is a Swapan Dasgupta. For every Mani Shankar Aiyar there is a Subramanian Swamy. For every Aruna Roy there is a Kejriwal. I am not batting for any of the worthies listed. I am only pleading for objectivity for which mediacrooks doesnt appear to have much respect.

The list is made based on feedback and on considerations other than politics. It comprises panelists who are mindlessly belligerent, intolerant and have political motives. For eg: Swapan Dasgupta is rightwing but is neither belligerent nor intolerable. He also does not disrespect others.. I hope you can tell the difference.. Other than that all your views are welcome...

Also, people like Aruna Roy, Kejriwal and other activists appear as panelists only for their issues and not for every issue on earth as these panelists do.

To others who have talked about Sagarika or journos... they are TV anchors and not panelists..

I was cursing the author of this blog upon going through the first three panelists that he obliterated Renuka strutting in his mind but upon rolling down the entire paradigm shifted.

The style and smirks they are associated with is puking for us. Buttressing the corrupted and bullying what is stored in their mind for quid pro qua and thus fooling the nation for the past six decades is meticulously enough to lynch them if they repeat to go on for looting the nation with impunity. As Mr CR mentioned, you have ignored Diggy; precisely confined to mental asylum as per the wish of majority of the common? Nay, it is not the custom of the cong to merit the majority.

In Marathi Regional media there are some like Kumar Ketkar(Loksatta), Pratap Asbe(Maharashtra Times) and so called analyst Uday Nirgudkar, Prakash Bal and Congress sponsored Social Activist Seema Sakhare, Kumar Saptarshi, G.R.Khairnar. All of the above impartial, educated, high thinkers and good people hired to damage Anna's Movement and Janlokpal.

Dear Ravinar, all the worthies who feature in this post get their due spot on. Thanks a million for this cogent post. Last but not the least, I couln't have agreed with Umesh Aggarwal more. He rightly says that these Discussions are fixed and all are party to it. Thanks again for such a wonderful post that loudly and squarely reflect public opinion. Regards K R Vaishampayan [alias - KRV]

They are digging their own political grave. As societies are maturing ill-mannered and grudge carrying panelist are creating a negative image of themselves. The unfortunate part is that these (mostly politicians) like Digvijay Singh and kapil sibbal have the tenacity to speak against the Anna and revolution openly and blatantly because they know that the key viewers of such shows are urban population that does not believe in voting so no threat to their political supremacy no matter they openly become the villian of the society.

There are lot. But no one can beat Renuka. No Rudalis can ever compete with her. The scene is fresh in my mind when the channels splashed out her picture crying loudly when SG was refused PM ship by the ex-President Kalam. I would not know if she would ever weep/wept at the loss of her own Mom.

GM should have been first in the list. Never mind when there are others to occupy his place, let us give in. Ha, our philosopher Mani, the Shankar Iyer has lost his nuts. The debate in Times Now channel with poor Swapan is uninteresting.

I guess this is a BJP-sponsored website or somebody owing his links to muslim-hater RSS. Neither the comments about panelists are true nor the language used is decent. The writer of this forum is a big loser. He can't be taken on face value like the RSS people. Keep your mouth shut you stupid man.

renuka, teesta, tushar G and Manish Tiwary win the list hands down... these days, i almost turn the TV off if I find them there, as they really insult my intelligence! Another panelist that I hate is Mahesh Bhatt.. why does he have to talk about everything? I think he is best advised to just get foreign chicks and make masala flicks!

All evil lies only in the Congress? Sad, but supporters of Hazare sa'ab should at least learn after Mumbai that attacking only one party does not help their cause. And this site should also learn some balance. It's so obviously biased in favour of the BJP and yet gives lectures on objectivity to the media. This same tendency of seeing oneself as the epitome of propriety is what has led the BJP to this state. Fact written boldly on the wall for you guys to read- People don't support you anymore.

Superb blog... Liked the article... I recently started watching news channels since Annaji's agitation in august.. and ever since following the news regularly.Till now i was wondering why the panelists keep numb towards many congress' related topics.. and they underplay the discussion.. and definitely this article is an eye-opener to me

Superb article...Mahesh Bhatt leads the race for his intellectual and "secular" credentials...No wonder NDTV and CNN often shows him on debates seeking his expert advice (and his tweets) on secularism, Gujrat, Anna....and so on. And also the way Rajdeep and other stereotypes introduces Tushar Gandhi (as a last/genuine source related to anything on Gandhism) to the viewers is quite remarkable...

I completely agree that the Blog owner is tilted in favour of Hindu society. But is that wrong ? As long as he dosen't say anything cheap, vulgar, unpatriotic, unconstitutional he has a birthright to speak his voice from the perspective of the Majority but peace loving Hindu community. The real problem is that the Main stream Media projects itself as secular but continuously supports the Muslim cause of congress party for the money & perks they receive. That's where the real inspiration to be pro Hindu comes from! Hence I would suggest you to focus on the root cause of this pro hindu ideology becoming popular. You would mostly find the answer in the Hypocrisy of the Main stream Media & Congress Party.

Dear AbhijeetI fully agree with you. You have communicated he rootcause clearly and politely- the ones who want to be neutral are forced to take Pro-Hindu stand to protect their identity and legacy because of the hypocrisy of media and Congress party.

Three serial comments, prior to this one, by an Anonymous poster were removed. Commenter was merely spamming instead of making any valid comment/criticism. Venting is fine, mindless spamming is unacceptable...

Dear Author,I agree, it would have been difficult job to pick only TEN among many , yet it would be gross injustice to the stature like Kumar Ketkar and like minded individuals, if you drop his name from the list. I think he holds enough credentials to qualify in this list.Among many few of them are; Once he said that Modi was never polled 60% votes in Gujarat therefore he is not the popular leader in the state. Scarcely he said so, the anchor Rajdeep ended the program and didn't allow for any rebuttals and didn't allow to ask him that which politician

With that Child molester Rathore smirk on face, Vinod Sharma of HT is the most disgusting panelist one can think of. People think he is licking Congress in hope of getting a Rajya Sabha ticket. Thats not true. His HT Maalkin, Shobhana Bharti has already been put in Rajya Sabha by Congress and this irritating editor is only trying to please her, more than Congress. Worst part is, in any panel, he looks the most dimwit character. Yes, even Manish Tiwari seems and sounds a genius compared to Vinod Sharma.

How could the list leave out Burka Dutt? With her periodic monkey grin she is one hell of an irritating journalist, on payrolls of Congress. The lady even comes up with expressions of deep pain on face while allowing cacophony of Teesta Sheetalwad. Owner Prannoy Roy has left his channel to mercy of mercenary journalists like Burka Dutt and channel has gone to dogs.

i thak the site from my heart today i am very happy finding all these crooks as i think 95% of indian media are purchased by congress where all these so called journelists busy with defending congress i hope you add some more crooks in future. like mr.kumar ketkar,mr.alok mehata,

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